


Run

by b_enkeii



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/M, Post-Shido's Palace, Ryuann
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:48:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23212018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/b_enkeii/pseuds/b_enkeii
Summary: Re-write of the scene following the final Shido battle. Ann is shaken up.
Relationships: Sakamoto Ryuji/Takamaki Ann
Comments: 1
Kudos: 49





	Run

**Author's Note:**

> First thing I'm posting on this account, second fic I've written in actual years.
> 
> Title comes from Joji, recommend listening to it while reading if you can.

_________________________________

When they’d started all of this ‘thieving’ business, Ann knew it was going to be dangerous. Constantly fighting the scum of Tokyo and the kingdoms of their ugly heart’s making, things were bound to get a little rough.

But nothing.

Nothing.

Could have prepared her for this.

She’d shot up from the grass and began to frantically search for the boy who’d possibly given himself for the safety of his friends. For her.

“Idiot,” she thought as she struggled to fight tears. The lack of blonde in her immediate line of vision was fighting back stronger.

She vaguely registered the voices of her teammates asking “Where’s Ryuji?” and “Did Ryuji make it out?” as nothing more than distant whispers as she sank back down to the ground, legs no longer being able to support the weight of both her body and her anxiety.

“No, no, no...” The quiet stream of words finally falling through her lips to match the first fall of tears.

He couldn’t be gone. He was supposed to make jokes and make comments about her eating too much sugar and make her laugh and be there through everything no matter what little petty arguments they’d have and-

“Maaaaaan, thought I was a goner there for a second!”

Ann whipped her head up toward the source of the voice, to see a bruised, scratched-up but breathing Ryuji. She couldn't stop the tears that fell harder from seeing him alive. 

“Ryuji…” she whispered, in equal parts disbelief and relief.

“Ann? What’s this?” He walked toward her and squatted, putting a hand on her head.   
“Your cryin’ face is so not cute!” He teased with that stupidly heartwarming smile she thought she’d never see again.

And if she thought she couldn’t cry harder than she already was, she was wrong.

“You idiot”, she said, not an ounce of maliciousness in her tone. She brought her chin to her chest and tried to wipe away the wetness on her cheeks.

The hand on her head slid down to cup her face in an incredibly not-Ryuji-like gesture, and she looked up to find something she didn’t think she’d ever seen before.

The most tender, caring smile she’d ever seen in her life.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Ann,” he wiped a stray tear away with his thumb, while his unexpectedly soothing voice helped to calm the rest.

Before she could fully process the fuzzy, uncomfortable feeling his smile left in her chest, Ryuji got up and went to address the rest of his concerned friends.

After the chaos had died down, the group was headed back to Leblanc on the promise of some of Akira’s curry (which, while improving, had a ways to go before it could be compared to Sojiro’s).

Ann was uncharacteristically quiet the entire time, and it didn’t go unnoticed by the other blonde in the party. As emotionally stunted as Ryuji may have seemed, he could see something was bothering his friend. 

He might miss a lot, but he didn’t really miss much about Ann. It was kind of hard to take your eyes off of her, but it was deeper than that for Ryuji. She was one of the brighter parts of his day, and even an idiot would know the difference between cloudy skies and a sunny afternoon.

_______________________________

No matter how hard she tried, her voice wouldn’t come out.

She stared as Ryuji hung from the release lever, that stupid grin on his face even in the face of imminent danger.

Everything was silent as the remnants of the cruise ship combusted, and it was only then that Ann could hear herself scream, a desperate, terrified scream. The kind of scream that only comes before something truly horrific.

The clouds of smoke began to dissipate, and a truly grotesque picture was revealed to her.

Half of Ryuji, brokenly splayed over a floating piece of sheet metal; his body from the waist down seemingly ripped from his torso, and nowhere to be seen. His face was bloodied and bruised beyond recognition, his only identifying feature being his matted, blonde hair.

His eyes were lifeless and open, yet very clearly asked the question:

“Why couldn’t you save me?”

Barely recognizing the sound of herself screaming, Ann woke drenched in a cold sweat, unable to catch her breath. Her eyes darted around the room, searching for the image of her nightmares. As she regained her sense of self, she began to slow her breathing.

She looked at her phone; 12:17 AM.

Fueled by residual adrenaline, Ann made a split second decision. Throwing on a hoodie and sneakers over her sweatpants and tank top, she grabbed her keys and phone and was out the door.

_______________________________

Ryuji was roused from sleep by the sound of his phone vibrating against the wood of his bedside table. Without looking at the contact, he answered the call, voice thick with sleep.

“N’yeah?”

“...ryuji?”

Recognizing the voice, he sat up, slightly more alert, “Ann? What’s wrong?”

“Sorry, did I wake you up?”

Even over the phone, he could tell she’d been crying. “What’s wrong?” he repeated.

“Um, well-” Ryuji takes the moment after asking to glance out his window, only to spy a glimpse of… blonde.. Hair?

“Ann, are you outside my apartment right now?” He stood up to get a better look, and sure enough, Ann was on the grass behind the complex he and his mom lived at, in her pajamas, looking like she just had a ride on a wind turbine.

“I was kind of out the door before I realized-”

“What are you doing here?”

“Are you going to let me in or not?”

Sighing, Ryuji went to unlock his window. It wasn’t as though his mom wasn’t ok with him having girls over (especially Ann, she loved Ann), but it had become their weird routine after the first time she’d gone over, she’d always come through his bedroom window.

By the time he’d gotten the lock opened, she was already at the window sill. 

After climbing in and sitting next to him on the edge of his bed, Ryuji could see how visibly shaken she was. He put his hand on her harm in a soothing gesture, and asked what was bothering her.

“I….I-” her words caught in her throat, her eyes tearing up.

“Ann?” he asked, voice laced with concern.

“I saw you die.”

Ryuji’s heart dropped, “What?”

Ann turned to face him, no longer able to hold back her fears. “I saw you die, Ryuji! You, you were bloody and mangled and- and-” 

“Hey, hey, hey, I’m right here, Ann, I told you I wasn’t going anywhere,” he used his other hand to cup her cheek as he’d done earlier that evening, doing his best to calm her.

“Ryuji, you were gone. You were dead and I couldn’t breathe and I didn’t want to knowing you were gone-”

“Ann…”

“-and I can’t get the sight of your body out of my head and it scares the shit out of me how real it could have been and how I’d have never seen you again-”

“Ann.” 

He cut her off by taking her into his arms.

“I’ve told you, you can’t get rid of me that easily,” he pulled away to look her straight in the eyes.

“I would not leave you so easily, especially not before I told you how much I love you.”

Whether it was the intensity of the moment, the magnified emotion she was feeling, or a mix of the two, she’d never know.

She kissed him.

He kissed her back. 

It spoke with such strength the words they wanted to share with one another.

After pulling back, they rested their foreheads together.

“To be honest, I was scared shitless too, but I decided in that moment, ‘if I make it out of this, I have to tell her’, because if I could face death, then I think I could probably face my feelings too,” he confessed, which earned a chuckle from Ann.

“You finally laughed,” he beamed, “music to my ears.”

Flushing, she broke his gaze. “You idiot”.

“I’d like it much more if I could be your idiot,” he admitted, taking her hands in his own.

Her lips found his once more, much gentler this time, and she smiled. “Me too”.

p>

**Author's Note:**

> I DIDN"T KNOW HOW TO END THIS SO HERE IT IS
> 
> Constructive criticism is more than welcome.


End file.
